Forks officials to youth league: No bylaws, no money

Forks township officials have been waiting since October for the athletic association to submit bylaws.

Forks township officials have been waiting since October for the athletic association to submit bylaws. (MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO)

Kevin DuffySpecial to The Morning Call

Athletic association on Forks agenda but no members attend meeting

Forks Township officials have been awaiting an amendment to the township youth league's bylaws pertaining to disciplinary issues since last year.

The Board of Supervisors sought to put the volunteer group on notice Thursday by placing a discussion item on theagenda with an ominous message: The board is considering suspending funding "due to the inability to provide the necessary bylaws to the Forks Township Recreation Board."

The message didn't seem to resonate — no bylaws were provided, and no member of the association, now called the Forks Township Youth Sports Group, showed up for the meeting.

Vice Chairman Ed Moore said he was surprised no one attended despite group's members knowing the item was on the agenda.

"They were aware of the meeting; they knew this would be discussed — you would think they would send one board member," he said.

"It's unfortunate that we even have to have this discussion on suspending funds for athletic games."

Earlier, the board approved an amendment to an ordinance governing the powers and responsibilities of its Parks and Recreation Board to provide a greater degree of oversight.

The township first requested an amendment to the league's disciplinary process and procedures in October. The document was to have been submitted to the recreation board in time for the supervisors' May 21 meeting, but the association canceled its meeting that month.

Moore said the issue of updating the bylaws came from an influx of new members in the association and the need to make their duties and responsibilities clear.

"We thought we would clarify," he said.

Supervisor Dan Martyak said he didn't believe the suspension would go through, but said the program needs to be run better since it is subsidized by taxpayers.

"I don't think the town would cut funding; we need to make sure that the use of funds and oversight is appropriate for the program," Martyak said.

Budget authorizations for the group, he said, are the responsibility of the supervisors and Parks and Recreation Director Rachel Sulzbach.

Martyak said the desire of the board should be to keep the program moving forward.

"Let's get something in writing that we can live with so people don't get angry with each other," he said.

To aid in that process, the ordinance amendment passed Thursday grants the recreation board the power to "approve bylaws, policies and code of conduct of any athletic association," as well as to review its meeting minutes, develop participation policies, and review documentation of disciplinary actions.

The ordinance also grants the recreation board the power to conduct hearings to appeal disciplinary actions and make recommendations to the supervisors to withhold funds.

Supervisor Erik Chuss said the bylaws need to be addressed to provide policies in the event of improper behavior by coaches and parents who "become overenthusiastic over their child's participation in sports."

No specific instances of disciplinary infractions were mentioned during Thursday's meeting.